Many different types of evaluations are carried out on meat products before they are approved for commercial sale. Some of these procedures involve a system of grading depending upon fat and muscle content and distribution, while others involve condemnation decisions.
Various types of ultrasonic apparatus for examining the internal structure of humans and animals are, of course, well known in the prior art. The use of ultrasonic techniques for inspecting live animals for fat thickness has long been proposed, particularly in percentage of fat or lean, so that the fat indication provides a reasonable indication of carcass composition.
The advantage of using ultrasonic apparatus to inspect and grade livestock are numerous. Primarily, an animal's value can be accurately assessed without causing any damage to the carcass. In meat animals a grading determination is based upon the relative quantity of fat or muscle within a normal set of parameters. The normal set of parameters are the same for each animal within a particular species (e.g. the number of fat or muscle layers) whereas the proportion each type of tissue within these parameters differs for each individual animal. Ultrasound techniques have been used extensively to determine grading characteristics of livestock.
Currently poultry carcasses are graded A, B, or C subjectively based primarily upon general appearance, fleshiness and freedom from defects, torn skin and other blemishes. However there has been no practical way of accurately predicting the relative ratio of muscle to bone and the overall muscle composition of poultry carcass without dissection. As the breast is usually considerably the most valuable portion of poultry, it would be extremely valuable to provide a meaningful grading system based upon the size of the breast muscle to the overall weight of the carcass.
The industry is in need of a method of grading for poultry that provides a meaningful, accurate information on the size of the breast muscle to the weight of the carcass.